Ruminations on Rose Festival

Day One: Thursday started early, as I had to finish packing, catch the Tech Trolley to the MARTA station, MARTA to the airport, check-in, and make it through security. Once there, though, I had a good hour or so to bum around the airport. I always give myself more time than even conceivably necessary, mainly because I like airports so darn much. (Unfortunately, when flying American out of Hartsfield-Jackson one gets stuck in Terminal T, which is a den of crumminess as far as the terminal world goes. Oh, well.) I fell asleep on the flight, which is a big deal since I have immeasurable trouble sleeping on planes/trains/buses/cars/etc. Then the male flight attendant woke me up to ask if I wanted anything to drink. And, for some reason, the fact that he was a male flight attendant made it even more obnoxious. Don't ask me why. (For the curious, I got a Dr. Pepper since I was up anyway.) My first sight after setting foot in Texas was a man in a cowboy hat. It's good to be home. My first stop after setting foot in Texas was Whataburger. It's great to be home. I only had a couple of hours to regroup after driving in from Dallas before we headed up to the Cowan Center for four hours of rehearsal.

Day Two: Friday also started early, as we had to be up at Cowan at 7 for more coronation rehearsals. For those who don't know, Coronation is a lavish presentation of each girl and her custom designed dress, complete with lights, staging, and live music, hence the many rehearsals. After a few hours worth, we were given about fifteen minutes to dress and load the bus for the Ladies' Luncheon, where we stayed for about twenty minutes before bussing back to Cowan in order to dress, prep, and primp for the matinee coronation. Now, during every single rehearsal I had not had any problems or costume malfunctions. During the matinee performance, as I ended my turn about the stage and ascended the first flight of stairs, I suddenly found myself unable to move. I pulled a little bit, couldn't budge. Kevin (my escort) gave me wild eyes and said, "What's wrong?". I replied, "I'm stuck!". So he hopped down a couple steps and yanked my cape/train off of the nail it had snagged on and we continued up the stairs without any further hitch. I barely made it offstage before busting up laughing. After the finale, the matinee was over and we had some time to kill before getting ready for the evening performance. Alex and I searched for somewhere, anywhere, to get comfortable, and we settled on a carpeted ramp. Unfortunately, due to our headpieces and updos, it was near impossible to actually get comfortable. We did the best we could, though. The evening coronation went swimmingly, no nails to speak of, and afterwards we again had about fifteen minutes to get dressed for the Past Presidents cocktail party. They had chicken fingers and mashed potatoes.

Day Three: Following trend, Saturday started early. We had to be up at Cowan at 7 again to dress for the Rose Parade and Queen's Tea. The parade was a lot of fun. My float was sponsored by a liquor distribution company. Awesome, right? Thankfully, I have the Princess Diaries movies (One and Two) memorized, so I know the ins and outs of parade participation.We had some down time after the parade to lunch and chill before getting dressed once again for the Queen's Tea. This is where we all parked it under mushroom looking tents in the Rose Garden and little girls came up to talk to us while their grandmothers took pictures. I felt like a real princess. I even got to hold someone's baby. And thus concludes my time in my glitzy blue costume and headdress. It was sort of sad, but by now the sequins around the armholes had started jabbing my armpits, so it was also sort of happy to disrobe for the last time. Mostly sad, though, because it indicated my time as a princess was running short. The last Rose Festival activity of the weekend was the Rose Ball that night, and I got to get my hair did up with my tiara for the event. Then, before we knew it, it was time to get to Harvey Hall for, you guessed it, more rehearsals, but this time for the presentation of the court. We scooted to our dressing room after rehearsing and all donned our poufy white dresses. Now, I had been wearing heels quite a bit this weekend, and my dogs were barking. Since my dress went all the way to the floor and didn't even show my feet as I walked, what was stopping me from wearing comfortable shoes? Nothing. So, instead of putting on pretty white heels or uncomfortable white flats, I laced up my Jordans from my middle school basketball glory days. I didn't wear them to flaunt or even as a joke, I just really wanted some comfortable shoes that I wouldn't worry about teetering over in. I personally think that they made my presentation all the more confident. After walking down the runway, it was ball time. Kevin and I hit the bar hard - the dessert bar, that is. Pazookie and cakeballs?!?! How could we stay away? And of course we cut a few rugs.

Sunday was recovery day (read, El Charro day), and Monday was write thousands of thank you notes and run various errands and Don Juans day. Plus, Monday evening held a Footloose mommy-daughter date with two awesome ging's. On Tuesday, Gran Jan and I drove to DFW and I set off into the wild blue yonder, back towards quizzes, tests, class, and other reminders that I am no longer living in a fairytale. But it'd totally be ok if everyone still wanted to treat me like I was...

Bookish

My mother scolded me at the mall today when I started looking at a book fair set up in the middle of the walkway instead of shopping for clothes. Her entreaties eventually managed to tear me away from the rows and rows of slightly used books, but I would have been more than content to remain perusing for hours. I did manage to snag dollar copies of The Grapes of Wrath and Paradise Lost before being whisked away to try on countless more party dresses. I feel like things usually work the other way around...

This, my friends, is what we would call characteristic.

Thoughts

So, the majority of my summer has been spent in chunks. I had to get through Mission Week before I started thinking about Rose Festival summer stuff. I have to get through Rose Festival summer stuff (portraits today - blarg!) before I can start thinking about school and apartment needs. I have to get through school and apartment needs before my wisdom teeth surgery. I have to get through my wisdom teeth surgery before I can start thinking about moving in and starting a new semester.

Since when does summer require all this thinking?

Won't You Follow Me Down to the Rose Parade?

Last week, I was a princess. Well, technically a Lady in Waiting, but I sure was treated like a princess. You see, down here in little old Tyler, Texas we take rose growing/processing pretty seriously. It's kind of a big deal. In fact, is such a big deal that since the 1930's, we've put on an annual Rose Festival to celebrate the role of roses in our economy. Here's the skinny:

Every year, a group of college sophomore girls is chosen by a committee to comprise the Tyler Court. These girls are either from families with historic ties to Tyler or from families that have been supporters of the Rose Festival for many years. One girl, who exemplifies both of these categories, is chosen to serve as the Rose Queen. (Every girl who has grown up in Tyler has, at some point in time, dreamed of being the Rose Queen.) Another girl, usually with family connected to the rose industry, is chosen to be the Duchess of the Rose Growers - a kind of second in command, if you will. The rest of the Tyler court are Ladies in Waiting. Girls from other towns with relatives historically bound to Tyler or that support the Rose Festival are invited to join the court as Duchesses of their respective homes. Each member of the court chooses an escort, college sophomore boys, usually from Tyler families. The Queen may also choose children to participate in the court; a young boy as a scepter bearer, two young girls as train bearers, and other attendants. There you have it. The Court. But what do they do?

Rose Festival takes place in October, when the roses in the nation's largest municipal rose garden (yep, that'd be Tyler's) are in full bloom. It consists of several Coronations, the Rose Parade, and The Queen's Tea. Coronations are huge pageants, in which all of the duchesses and ladies in waiting are presented, and the Rose Queen is crowned to begin her year of service. These are not B-list affairs, my friends. A fashion designer from Dallas custom designs a dress for each girl. Lady in Waiting dresses are usually complementary and in accordance with the overall theme of that year's festival. Duchess dresses are more outlandish and creative, with each Duchess getting her own character and persona. In groups of 5 or so, duchesses and ladies in waiting alternate turns on stage. When each girl is announced, she walks around the stage, stopping in the middle to perform a full bow - to the floor. The last to be presented is the Queen, who is crowned then performs her own bow. One of the coolest things about coronation is that the Queen's dress is kept entirely secret until the first coronation. The other dresses are, too, but they're more contained within the court and parents of the court. The Queen's dress is a complete surprise for most everyone. It's really quite magical. The Rose Parade is a parade, with all of the Court on floats and every middle school band marching and herds of cheerleaders cheering and the Shriners in their little cars. Pretty much what you'd expect. Tea with the Queen is one of my favorite events, because the entire court sits out under pretty little tents in the Rose Garden, and little girls from all over come with their grandmas to take pictures and get autographs.

So, yeah. This past week has been the week of summer rehearsals. I've been learning how to walk, float, bow, and hold my arms like a true princess, and I've loved every second of it. Even though I saw Midnight in Paris and learned that you can't spend your life wishing you were some-time else, I still believe that I might possible be living in the wrong era. I belong where all of this pomp and circumstance is the norm! I guess Prince Harry is still eligible...

For more: http://www.texasrosefestival.com/festival/index.htm
                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-jjXAkGZ1w&feature=related
                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aP4OYhhFro&feature=related
                http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=texas%20rose%20festival